McTominay confirms he nearly made loan move

Speaking during the upcoming episode of UTD Podcast, in which he appears alongside Jesse Lingard, the Scotland international suggests he could have followed his fellow Academy graduate in furthering his education away from Old Trafford. 

There was plenty of speculation, at the time, that the midfielder was attracting attention from a number of clubs, both in England and north of the border.

“About a year-and-a-half ago, there was a time when it might have been a possibility but then somebody else leaves or something like that," McTominay said during the podcast. “And then your opportunity comes and you have to take it.

“You hear loads of stories about boys going on loan, and different things like that, and I always had it in my head that I don’t want that. I want to be showing myself here first and, if it doesn’t work here, then you go somewhere else.

“For me, you hear the stories about getting the life of luxury at Manchester United and people take that for granted; like the food in the canteen, your kit being laid out for you every morning. People just expect that and you have to always remember where you came from, in that respect, and always appreciate what people do for you. I feel like that is the culture that is brought through for us.”

The 23-year-old has gone on to be a key performer for the Reds, returning from injury to provide more evidence of his growing maturity and influence, and earning the same trust from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he enjoyed with former boss Mourinho.

Often, however, youngsters head out on loan in order to obtain valuable experience of competing in the senior game.

Lingard had spells with Leicester City, Birmingham City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Derby County before establishing himself in United's midfield, showing there are numerous different paths for the graduates to take.

"I always worked hard," said Lingard. "I always stayed behind [after training], always did the right thing. I think it’s just about working hard, and sticking to the plan but, sometimes you go off course.

“I went on loan, I had to battle there and fight for my place when I came back to United. I got injured on my debut [against Swansea City] and I was out for six months, so I have had a lot of setbacks but, if you keep fighting, work hard and keep believing, your dreams will come true.”

“It’s the biggest club in the world so it’s tough to start at the bottom and work your way up. There are a lot of obstacles along the way, a lot of highs and lows, but when you finally get to the end, and you’re playing for the first team, week in and week out, you cherish every moment that you’ve been through.”

You can listen to the rest of the interview when the new episode is available from Monday evening, on Deezer and other podcast platforms. To find previous episodes, visit www.manutd.com/podcast.